Accurate and timely prediction of impending future events can be useful and beneficial in many ways. For example, predicting where and when severe weather events will strike can provide residents with the warning necessary to protect themselves and their belongings from the damage. As another example, timely prediction of impending earthquake events, even if provided only a few seconds in advance, can prevent injury or death by allowing recipients of earthquake alarm to move quickly to a safer location or position before the onset of the earthquake. Even predictions dealing with less severe events can result in substantial advantages. For example, if a person's actions can be reliably predicted, other related people can more efficiently plan their activities and/or particular conveniences can be appropriately timed to be ready upon the person's arrival at a location. Utilization of such advantages could improve productivity, safety, and comfort on many different scales and in many different ways.
Despite these strong advantages, producing reliable predictions remains a difficult task. There are many unknowns that influence a future event, and frequently, contributing variables are also unknown. Thus, weather predictions are frequently erroneous, natural disasters frequently strike without warning, and substantial time is wasted waiting on certain events, such as the arrival of others, or preparing an environment only after such others actually arrive.